On Tuesday night the annual carnival in the East Flemish city of Aalst came to an end. The 2024 carnival was the 94^th to be held in Aalst. Aalst Carnival is the largest carnival in Flanders and is the high spot of the year for many residents of the city that is midway between Brussels and Ghent.

With tens of thousands of revelers taking part in the 3-day event there is inevitably a lot of rubbish discarded on the streets. In an effort to cut the amount of rubbish left by carnival-goers the city authorities launched a new reusable plastic glass scheme this year. The scheme was adopted by many cafés and bars in Aalst that had hitherto used disposable plastic glasses during carnival.

The scheme appears to have been a big success with this year’s carnival rubbish mountain being 30% smaller than was the case last year. In 2023 the Municipal Cleansing Department collected 75,000kg of rubbish during carnival. This year the total amount of rubbish collected was 52,000kg.

The Alderman responsible for the environment in Aalst Katrien Beulens (Flemish nationalist) told VRT News that people are less inclined to disgard the reusable plastic glasses on the ground when they have finished their drink. Although the amount of rubbish discarded has fallen significantly, Ms Beulen recognises that “It is still at lot”.

Ms Beulens added that all but two cafés in the centre of Aalst used the same reusable plastic glasses. Those using the plastic glasses first had to pay a deposit that was returned to them when they handed them back in.

Anyone that has taken one or more of the plastic glasses home with them has until Friday to take them to Aalst City Council’s Administrative Centre where they can retrieve their deposit.